Story In A Bottle Podcast

“There are no shortcuts to enlightenment.” That quote by Mike Rothman sums up his approach to the impressive career and life that he has lead thus far. In this episode, Mike, the co-founder of Fatherly, a new parenting product  that takes a unique approach to content and commerce, talks about the entrepreneurial spirit drives him.

Episode highlights include:

  • The story behind the origins of Thrillist.
  • Why email is “the cockroach of the internet” and why it’s currently one of the most important communication tools for brands.
  • How a cross-country bike ride for charity can (or cannot) change your life.
  • What you can learn from being Conan O’Brien’s writing intern.

Why his biggest lesson learned to date is: “Focus, focus, focus. Especially early on… as great as you are, you can only do one thing well at a time.”

Direct download: SIAB_MRothman_v3.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:42am EDT

Maya Baratz spent her childhood filling up dozens of notebooks passionately writing. At the time, she had no idea that what seemed to be a necessary reality for her own personal psyche could translate into a career. Her love of content, however, could only be equaled with her obsession with technology.


Over prosecco generously provided by Alphabet City Wine Company, Maya discusses the challenges of immigrating to the United States from Israel as a pre-teen - with very little grasp of the English language - through her early years discovering that her love of both content and tech could translate into a real career. Her unique experiences working as a speechwriter for former senator John Kerry and innovating how Monster.com shaped it’s early community have helped lead her to her role as the Head of New Products at ABC News, where she’s doing her most innovative work yet.

Direct download: SIAB_MBaratz_v3.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:48am EDT

Over the past twenty years, journalism as an industry has evolved significantly. Erick Schonfeld has not only reported on tech throughout that process, but he’s been a major catalyst for innovation within the field as well. His experience follows the shift from print to digital as a priority at Forbes, to the professionalization of blogs at TechCrunch, up until now, as he is championing new technologies to enhance digital storytelling as the co-founder of Touchcast.


Over a few glasses of Grgch Hills Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Erick discussed the challenges he’s faced at the forefront of journalism; how, over time, the lines blurred between being a “content creator” to the creating of the product itself. Those key learnings have been instrumental for Touchcast, and explain why it’s been embraced by companies like The Wall Street Journal, the BBC, and Style.com, as well as its popularity in the world of education.

Direct download: SIAB_ESchonfeld_v5.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:48am EDT

It’s no secret that most successful products are born out of collaboration. Mari Sheibly has made a career of proving that time and time again as a designer for some of the internet’s best, including Foursquare, Rent the Runway, and now at budding Walker & Co.


Early on Mari was dissuaded from the dream of being a professional artist while attending art school which lead to her focusing her sights on the world of product design. In the years since, she’s surrounded herself with teams that challenge her and that she challenges back, building and rebuilding digital products until she knows, almost instinctively, it’s time for her to move on to the next. Over dirty vodka martinis, Mari shared her thoughts around being on both sides of process (client and agency), her lessons from helping a young startup like Foursquare evolve and find itself, and how Walker & Co. is ensuring it does not find itself caught in the stereotypical web of homogeneity.

Direct download: SIAB_MSheibley_v3.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:31am EDT

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